SOUNDING a confident, defiant tone in the community of Igbara-Oke, in Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State on Thursday, Governor Olusegun Mimiko knocked his opponents with the facts of his accomplishments in office, saying their attempts at downplaying the strides he made in his tenure in office was inspired by selfishness.
The governor spoke as he continued his aggressive re-election campaign across communities in the state, describing his contenders as emergency governorship candidates whose motivations were anything but altruistic.
“We are in government for the people and to ensure that the lives of our people are better for it, said Governor Mimiko to a cheering, supporting Igbara-Oke audience, adding that any government that cannot support mothers and children in the society is a failed government.
“Any government which does not do anything about the children and mothers health is not a good government. Cases of children dying were rampant because of inadequate health care services. But in Ondo State today, there are no more Kokumos (still births) in Ondo State.
“Thus, when we got to office, we started Abiye program (safe motherhood program) here in Ifedore. And in 3 yrs, Nigeria, and the whole world has seen what we are doing. Today, our Mother and Child Hospital model is not only the best in Nigeria but a template for Africa and, from the world, accolades have come.”
“A child who went to school up till secondary school level without having seen computer is lost and cannot compete with his peer elsewhere; that is why we are building mega primary schools with all facilities: computers, health centre, agric farm, music room, standard sport fields, Art room amongst other.
So those who said we should not establish mega schools are not only selfish but are your enemies because they did not send their children to public primary schools, but they don’t want the children of the poor to go to the kind of schools theirs went to.
“That is why they said we should not build mega schools and that we should continue with the kind of hovels and poultry type of primary schools they built and called schools in this 21st century. But to us, that is how enlightened they; but in our own case, we have mega enlightenment and we shall continue to build more mega schools, more mega water, more mega hospitals, more mega markets.
“They said our modern markets are mere waste of money, that our mothers are not entitled to it that we should stop it and allow the women to trade in those shacks. Indeed, they promised to scrap these markets forgetting the fact that most of them were sent to schools from money made from d markets but because they are big men and women now; our mothers are no longer important to them. Please, don’t vote for them because they are selfish and do not want your progress at heart
“Those who were in office for 6 years and who for those six years were busy writing a roadmap to nowhere and they now want to come again to start writing another thesis. When we are re-elected again, we shall build a library for them to start doing what they know best, writing endlessly while we shall be busy with good governance.
“They said they did roads but what they did were loosed stone roads called surfaced- dressed roads. These roads never lasted a raining season, they wasted our money. But all those ugly roads, we tarred with asphalt. More than 70 % of these roads, we have tarred in order not to waste our money.”
Mimiko who berated the opposition for attempting to foist on the people those who he called ill-prepared and emergency governors said:
Governor Mimiko berated the opposition for attempting to foist “emergency governors” selected by interests outside of Ondo State to lord over the people of the state, describing such appointees as “ill prepared.”
“I have said it that anybody who wants to be Governor must be fully prepared for it and with a clear cut vision of how to make the people happy and better, not just that some failed politicians who have failed in all ramification or those who was not registered in Ondo State as a voter but was suddenly being propped to be one should come and lead our state into abject poverty and neo-colonisation,” Mimiko bellowed.
“We are not prepared for an emergency governor in Ondo State,” he added, saying “only a governor who has pedigree, one who is fully prepared will be governor in Ondo State. I am not an emergency governor and am also not a District Officer, you, the people elected me and only you will re-elect me again”.
The governor cited his achievements as credentials in seeking the mandate of Ondo State people, mentioning the actual sectors where his government had performed.
“We are saying without any iota of doubt that in any department of government, in rural development, education, agriculture, infrastructural development, industry, name it, that we have worked for you. We are running again for governorship on the basis of our record and let me assure you that I am still psychologically, physically, mentally and spiritually ready to be your Governor. With your vote, I will continue to work for you and together, we shall lift our State higher,” he said.